Post operative care of a patient involves constant attention to the surgical incision. Such attention necessitates cleaning of the wound and replacement of the dressing so as to facilitate healing and to avoid infection of the wound. While such constant and repetitive attention is intended to aid the healing process, the procedures used may actually agravate the wound and therefore result in a longer period of recovery.
In its most rudimentary form, surgical wound dressing involves the application of sterile gauze or similar bandage secured in place on the wound using adhesive tape. A variation of this practice involves the use of gauze pads having adhesive strips thereon which then retain the pads onto the wound.
In each of these practices, the adhesive tape or strip must be removed from the patient's skin whenever the dressing is changed. As a result, the skin soon becomes irritated and inflamed. Furthermore, whenever the adhesive tape or strip is pulled off the skin, it is likely to pull at the wound and any suture closing the incision, thereby reopening portions of the wound and retarding the healing process.
Various efforts have been undertaken to provide wound dressing which are less likely to agravate the wound or the surrounding skin. These generally involve a pair of adhesive members secured to opposite sides of the incision with either cords, elastic bands, or adhesive strips bridging the wound so as to draw the incision closed and/or to hold a dressing material onto the wound. Nevertheless, when the dressing material is being changed, the tension on the wound is released causing a portion of the healing wound to reopen, again prolonging the recovery process.
Another wound bandage concept involves suturing a flexible frame member to the body about the wound. A replaceable wound dressing, also having a flexible frame member is removably affixed to the first frame member. Thus, when a change of wound dressing is required, the replaceable wound dressing with the second frame member is discarded and replaced with a clean wound dressing having a second frame member. Such a wound dressing totally encompasses the wound making it very difficult to route drainage and/or irrigation tubs, and the like, from the affected region.
Despite the various attempts to provide a wound dressing which permits attendance to the wound, including cleaning of the wound and replacement of the dressing, none allows for such attendance without causing undue aggravation to the wound proper and/or the surrounding skin. Additionally, no known wound dressing enables the use of commonly available dressing material in amounts required; nor do they permit access for the routing of drainage and/or irrigation tubes and the like.